Reen's Story (Mistborn 'prequel')
by JadeKitty
Summary: What happens to Reen and his mother when she is visited by a man very different to all the others? How will he cope with her increasing paranoia? This is my first Fanfic; set before the first Mistborn book - I hope you enjoy it! I haven't yet read HoA, so there *may* be discrepancies between this and that, but I was so excited I just had to start writing!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to my first ever fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to give me constructive criticism; it's the only way I'll get better.**

 **This story is a prequel to the Mistborn books - following Reen (Vin's half-brother) and their early life. I intend to regularly publish new chapters, but I'm not sure if how far I'll go with this story.**

 ***Disclaimer* - I haven't read Hero of Ages yet, but I was hit by the inspiration to write my first FF. I'm told by my Beta (Infernas81) that there is a good chance that things in this story won't marry up with HoA, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

 **I do not own Mistborn or it's characters.**

Chapter 1.

Reen didn't understand who this man was that came to his house to 'visit' his mother; he just knew that he shouldn't pay attention to him. He was nothing like the many other men that came to the house. The tattoos around his eyes, bald head and his robes were enough to tell him that this was not a man to be trifled with. He had tried to ask his mother once why he kept visiting, but his mother cautioned him not to ever ask ANY questions and to make sure he was outside whenever the visitor was there.

So, Reen spent a lot his time outside their hovel, wandering around in the ash-covered fields. Sometimes he'd help with the plants, other times he wandered about kicking up the ash as he walked.

After the visits Reen's mother seemed more and more paranoid; she would jump at any strange noises, pushing him under the bed whenever she heard something.

As well as the paranoia, Reen noticed that his mother seemed to be growing larger despite eating very little. He finally plucked up the courage to ask her;

"Mother, are you sick?"

"No Reen. Why do you ask?"

Reen thought for a moment how to phrase his question, he was worried that if he asked her in the wrong way that it would either start her paranoia off or lead to a beating.

"Ermmm…it's just that I noticed that you don't eat so much…but your tummy is big" he finished with a whisper, looking at the floor.

His mother looked at him before kneeling on the floor next to him so she could look into his eyes.

"Reen, I'm going to have a baby. You will have a brother or sister. You will have to help me look after and protect him or her".

Reen looked at her shocked as she continued,

"You must never tell anyone about the man that comes here or tell him about the baby. It will be our secret".

Her eyes looked at him pleadingly as she finished. Reen looked straight into her eyes and nodded, he didn't like it but would do as he was told.

Several months later his mother gave birth to a girl and named her Vin. She was a squat little thing who always seemed to be bunched up. Reen doted on her doing whatever he could to keep her safe and happy. Unfortunately, he noticed that with the arrival of his half-sister that the paranoia of their mother was so much worse. She would ramble on about "Obligators" and "Inquisitors". Reen had no idea who or what these things were but he was very afraid and didn't want to find out.

When Vin was just over a year old the tattooed man came back to the house. Reen saw the horse riding along the road and when he recognized the man he picked up Vin and took her out of the house to hide her away. When he went back into the house his mother grabbed his arm,

"Reen, you and Vin must stay away. I'll find you when the man is gone", her eyes were wild as she told him this.

Reen just nodded his head and returned outside with a blanket in for Vin in case it got cold, but he didn't stray too far from the closed door, he decided he wanted to listen and find out who this man was and why his mother was so afraid.

"My Lord" he heard his mother meekly address the man "I did not think I would see you again".

"Where is your boy?" responded the man gruffly.

"Out, my Lord"

"Nothing...happened the last time I visited, did it?"

"No, my Lord" came her response quickly.

Reen then heard footsteps as the man walked over toward his mother. Reen managed to find a small split in the door so he could barely peek into their hovel. Reen saw the man grab his mother's hair and pull her head back before kissing her roughly and then throwing her toward the bed. He then proceeded to start ripping her clothes away. Reen had seen and heard enough, he turned around and ran toward the edge of the village where he'd hidden Vin.

He sat in the bushes with Vin as the sun started to set. She was getting fed up and hungry and he was struggling to keep her there and keep her quiet. More importantly, he needed to get them inside before the mists came. No-one had directly told him about the Mistwraiths that came with the mist, but he'd heard the other Skaa talk about them and knew he never wanted to be out after dark. He wasn't sure what to do, he couldn't go home but they couldn't stay outside much longer either. He looked around and saw the tool shed, thinking that there was nowhere else and they really needed to get inside he bent down and picked Vin up and took her into the shed.

The next morning Reen was awoken by sunlight coming through a few cracks in the wood. It had been a difficult night, they had both been hungry and scared. He'd done his best to keep Vin quiet and eventually she had cried herself to sleep in his arms. She was still asleep now thankfully, so he decided to slip out and see if he could see their mother and get something to eat; it should be safe enough to leave now, now that the sun was up and the mist should be gone.

After wandering around for 10 minutes he noticed that the man's horse was gone, which would mean he should be able to return home. He tentatively unhooked the latch and let himself in. His mother was sitting at the table with the head in the hands. When she heard the latch, she looked up and Reen stopped mid-step. His mother's face was covered in a huge bruise and her lip had a cut. She jumped up from the table so fast her chair fell backwards and she started shrieking at him,

"Where's Vin? Where's Vin?!"

"Asleep in the tool shed" he responded with his eyes glued to the floor.

"Keep her there in case he comes back!" she almost screamed at him as she shook with tears streaming down her face.

Reen could only nod his assent as he grabbed a small crust of bread for them to share as he left.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - I hope you enjoyed the first instalment. Reviews (good and bad) would be appreciated.**

 **This is a story I fully commit to finishing, although I don't have a definitive end point in mind or update schedule.**

 **I want to thank my Beta Infernas81 for his suggestions and bouncing ideas off him.**

Chapter 2

***FIVE YEARS LATER***

Reen and Vin were walking around in the ash-covered field when they heard their mother shriek

"Quickly, hide her!"

They both knew what this meant; their mother's 'special guest' – Vin's father – had returned. Reen had only been about 6 when Lord Tevidian, the Lord Ruler's highest-ranking Obligator had started visiting their hovel. He sometimes stayed for a few hours or maybe overnight, then he'd disappear again for months. He didn't know about Vin's existence and their mother made sure it stayed that way; if he found out about her he'd kill her under the Lord Rulers rules. It was fortunate that Tevidian had a soft spot for his mother, noblemen were expected to kill their Skaa whores once they'd finished to make sure no half-breeds – like Vin - were born. The Lord Ruler didn't want unknown Mistings running around; Allomancy was for the noble families only, not for the slaves.

Reen and Vin dutifully went to the tool shed and bolted the door shut behind them. Now that Vin was getting older she was starting to ask questions, questions that would get them into trouble. Reen had to keep her quiet, so every time she started asking her questions he smacked her.

"But who is he, why do we keep hiding from him?" she asked yet again.

Reen had had enough and smacked her so hard across her face it gave her a bloody nose. Tears welled in Vin's eyes and Reen thought she'd cry loudly giving them away, so he went back over to her. As he did Vin cowered down from him, so Reen got down on his knees and put his hands out to lift her up.

"Vin" he sighed "I've told you, you mustn't ask, it's dangerous. Just know that mother doesn't like talking about it and when you try to ask her it makes her worse…"

Reen trailed off at that thought. He wondered how much longer it would be before Tevidian had her killed. Her ramblings were getting far too frequent and he worried that his mother would mention Vin. He'd run if he had to, he was 13 now and old enough to join a thieving crew or boat team. He didn't want to leave but he worried that the Ministry would visit and that would mean the brutal deaths of all of them. Still, he tried to put the thoughts out of his mind as he put his hand briefly on her shoulder and wiped the blood from her nose.

He felt bad that he had beat her, but he was toughening her up for life in the real world. The real world was a terrible place for a Skaa, let alone a half-breed. He needed to make sure that she could take care of herself, and all her questions were doing was drawing attention to herself.

Over the next couple of months Reen did his best to keep his mother and sister safe, but he worried about their mother. She was becoming more unstable. She would beat Reen and Vin for and shout and rant about things that weren't there. Poor Vin seemed to get it more than him, and over time she seemed to have developed an art of hiding herself away.

* * *

He was making headway in teaching Vin tricks he'd learned from several of his mother's clients – before she started turning them away as she was keeping herself for Tevidian. These men worked on boat teams or thieved so Reen got them to show him things whilst they hung around in the field waiting. Today he was trying to teach Vin to pick a pocket.

"You mustn't let me see or feel you as you take the pouch" Reen told her sharply "once you've got the pouch leave quickly and carefully, weaving through the crowd, if they see or feel you, run as fast as you can! You're small so you shouldn't be too noticeable and would be able to get around in a crowd without problems. Now, try to take this pouch from me"

Reen then started walking down the path not paying any attention to Vin, the pouch dangling at his belt. Vin didn't start to follow straight away, she thought that he'd be expecting that so she hung around and after a couple of minutes ran flat out and grabbed for the pouch. Reen was waiting for her, grabbed her wrist and gave her a solid slap across the face as she struggled to get the pouch loose.

"If this had been real you'd have been caught!" he shouted "A crewleader would cast you out if you can't do basic things like this, and if a noble caught you you'd be beaten to death!".

Vin sat on the ground clutching at her face; there would be a welt there later.

"I'm sorry Reen" she meekly responded, "I couldn't undo the strap".

Whilst she was struggling with the actual filching, she was getting better at creating a distraction, but Reen knew that that wouldn't be enough, so he sat down and again showed her how to undo the knots.

* * *

Reen had suspicions that his mother was with child and this proved to be right. He noticed her abdomen was visibly swollen like it was with Vin and he confronted her about it.

"Mother, you're with child again aren't you" he didn't ask, he stated it to her.

His mother hung her head for a moment, then looked up at him straight into his eyes. There was lucidity there, he saw his mother of old looking back at him, with a worried and manic look in her face.

"Reen, we're in great danger! I've tried to hid Vin but she could be found at any time and now there is another baby. We'll be caught and killed!" she shrieked.

The look in her eyes told him that she was more afraid than he'd ever thought. She put her hands on his shoulders, as she continued.

"Tevidian is an Obligator, a noble. I don't know how they haven't found us yet, but it will be only a matter of time. If the Steel Inquisitors catch us we'll all be put the death!"

A shiver escaped Reen. He'd heard of the Steel Inquisitors before and he never wanted to see one in person. Several people had told him stories about how these 'things' – for that is the only way you could refer to one – that they had spikes where their eyes should be, with the points sticking out the back of their skulls. The whispers that he'd heard said that no-one ever survived going up against one.

Unbidden thoughts came into his mind; how could he hope to escape them? Should he run now and save himself, leaving his mother and younger siblings to their fates? Did he dare to go and take Vin with him? Should he attempt to make them all leave their hovel together?

As he was thinking all these things his mother was still looking at him, her nails now digging into his shoulders. Her eyes, which moments ago had seemed clear, now seemed to be losing their clarity again. Reen knew that soon she would descend back into her madness. Is this what had caused her paranoia? The worry at having to protect them? To protect Vin? He truly wasn't sure what to do about their situation, but he did know that it was more important than ever that Vin master the skills he's been trying to teach her.

* * *

That night Reen lay in bed awake with Vin asleep next to him. He had far too much to think about. What was he going to do…?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** *****Trigger Warning (spoiler!)*****

If you're familiar with the Mistborn Trilogy you'll probably know what's going to occur in this chapter. For those who don't, it involves the graphic death of an infant, as well as physical child abuse. This isn't something I take lightly, but it is something that is in the book and crucial to how the characters and plot develop. If you don't want to read it, please feel free to pm me and I'll send you a brief synopsis of what happens in this chapter. This is the main reason I gave this story an M-rating.

 **I've decided to make this my final chapter in this story; at least until I've finished HoA, then I may come back to it to either re-edit to fix any flaws and/or to add more chapters.**

 **Thanks again go to my Beta, infernas81.**

Chapter 3

***10 MONTHS LATER***

It was late at night and Reen, Vin and baby Jaina were once again cowering in the tool shed. Their mother had gotten word that Tevidian was on his way and had pushed the three of them out of the house. It was cold and the ash was falling solidly. Jaina was screaming and Vin was doing everything she could to keep her quiet. Reen stood looking out of the crack in the wall to make sure no-one heard them.

"Shut her up!" he hissed loudly.

"I'm trying" Vin whispered back. She was trying to play with her, had tried giving her some milk and made sure she was clean "I just don't know what else to do" she added hopelessly.

"Well think of something, and be quick about it". Reen stepped away from the crack drawing himself up to his full height. He always intimidated Vin when he stood like that; she knew a beating was imminent.

She turned her attention back to the baby "Shhhh Jaina, please" she pleaded with the infant. Vin began pacing around. Jaina tended to calm down when she was walked around, but it was difficult in the confines of the shed and they couldn't take her outside into the Mists.

Reen strode over to them and grabbed the wriggling baby from Vin, putting her against his shoulder. Yet she still cried. "She's going to get us caught" he muttered to himself.

Vin froze where she stood. After Jaina's birth Reen had told her in graphic detail what would befall them all at the hands of the Ministry if they were caught, telling her that keeping Jaina quiet was her responsibility. She was inwardly panicking about those 'things' coming for them and contained a shudder; it wouldn't do for Reen to see that she was afraid, but she was petrified.

In an attempt to get herself moving again Vin spread a tatty blanket on the floor. Reen knelt and put Jaina on it. His 5-month-old half-sister seemed to settle a little and Reen and Vin breathed a collective sigh of relief. Once she'd finally fallen asleep they took up their customary places on either side of the baby – the better to keep her warm – and fell asleep.

* * *

Two days after Tevidian's visit Reen returned to the house from foraging for food to find his mother pacing around, screaming and shouting at things that weren't there. She had become completely unstable since Jaina's birth. He noticed some blood smeared on the table and his breath hitched in his throat in panic. He looked around for Vin and Jaina but could see nothing. Tentatively, he walked over to his mother, placing a hand gently on her arm, "Mother, where are the girls?". She waved her hands around dismissively, "out, out" she whispered. Reen left and went to the shed and at first, he didn't see either of them. He was just about to leave when he heard a low whimpering sound from the corner and saw Vin crouched there with Jaina on the floor behind her. Reen stopped when he saw the state of Vin's face; there was not one part of it that was her normal olive skin-tone. It was covered in blood, welts and bruises. He slowly walked over to them and Vin curled herself into a ball. It broke Reen to see her like this; yes, her birth had seemed to start their mother's descent into madness and he resented her for that and yes, she did infuriate him and he punished her for it, but this was too much.

He tried to reach around her to pick up Jaina – he needed to see how she was – and Vin jumped up, a fierce look on the face; she was protecting the baby, he realised. He wondered if this was how their mother had injured her; that she was protecting Jaina. Reen backed away from her with his held up. He felt awful for her, but he couldn't afford to show it; he was trying to toughen her up ready for a life on the streets where no-one would be kind, but he needed to know what had happened.

Vin's weary eyes watched him as he crossed to the other side of the shed and sat down opposite her. "What happened Vin?". Vin didn't say anything, so Reen sat watching her. 10 minutes passed then Jaina started to cry, Vin gave a start before turning around and gently picking up the infant. Reen saw that the movement was causing her pain and he moved to take the baby, but Vin held her away from him. Reen sighed, looking up at the ceiling "come on Vin, tell me what happened". Vin fixed him with a glare "what do you think happened?!" she spat back him, "she did this when I couldn't get Jaina to settle down. I tried to take her outside and she stopped me. She tried grabbing Jaina but I held her away from her, so she slammed my head into the table, but I didn't let go of Jaina". There was a fierce pride in her eyes. She'd protected her sister and had taken a severe beating for it.

Reen was shocked, he knew their mother could be cruel, but this was a new low, even for her. He was going to have to be more careful with leaving them alone, but it was going to be difficult when there was a lot he was expected to do to keep the family going. He would have to give further thought to what he could do to help keep his sisters safe. If it was just him and Vin, he'd have taken her and run by now, but there was no way they could take a baby with them.

* * *

It was with some trepidation that Reen left the house a few days later, once again to scavenge for dinner. He really didn't like leaving the girls alone with their mother. After her savage beating, Vin had really withdrawn into herself. She jumped at the slightest sound, and her eyes followed them as they moved around the large room that was their house. Reen wasn't sure she'd ever get over it. He moved from the house at a run, so that he could be home all the quicker. Before he'd left he'd told Vin to take Jaina to the shed once she was awake until he was back. Vin gave him a curt nod as he left.

He was really rushing today, he just couldn't get past the fact that there was not much he could do to help his sisters. Vin had tried to argue with him that the three of them should leave the day after her beating, but Reen had told her that it would be difficult for her on the streets; with her small stature and being a girl, she would be a target. It would be difficult to keep Vin safe, they would have no chance with a baby with them. He longed to be away, but he didn't know how he could keep Jaina safe.

It took him over an hour to find enough food and he headed back.

As he strode to the door he immediately knew something was amiss. The door, which was normally latched shut was wide open and he could hear whimpering sounds coming from within. As he crossed the threshold everything seemed to stop with the sight that beheld him. For there, on the floor at their mother's feet lay baby Jaina – dead. She lay in a pool of blood with a spike going through her spine. Reen fell to his knees, tears streaking down his face. His mother calmly sat in a chair, seemingly talking to herself again. Her hands and clothes were covered in blood. Vin was restrained on her knee; not unlike someone trying to keep hold of a struggling toddler. Vin had silent tears falling, her face contorted in tortured anguish. Reen looked her over, and apart from some blood on her ear – where their mother had appeared to have shoved an earring into her earlobe – she looked otherwise unharmed.

Now his problem was how to get Vin safely away. There was nothing he could do for Jaina now – a thought that shocked and sickened him – but he could save Vin – he _had_ to save Vin. He looked to Vin and without saying anything he gestured to her to try and come over to him, so she tried wiggling a little more, but her mother just gripped her tighter, so Reen had to try a different approach. He slowly got off his knees and gently walked over to his mother. She didn't see him approaching; she was busy mumbling. "Mother" he started "I'm home, and I've brought enough vegetables for us to eat". She still didn't respond. "I need Vin to help me prepare them" he said, trying to keep the desperation from his voice. At the mention of Vin's name, his mother looked him straight in the eye. His mother mumbled something incoherent but released her. Reen held out of trembling hand and Vin took it, then he led her outside.

As soon as they'd shut themselves in the shed to full impact of what he'd just witnessed came crashing down onto Reen and he barely contained his cry of anguish. Vin had huddled in the corner with her knees drawn up and head bowed, silently rocking back and forth. Once he had a measure of control Reen looked over to her "Vin" he whispered, "by the Lord Ruler, what happened?" Vin looked up and as soon as she beheld his eyes she was wracked with sobs. Reen sidled up to her and tried to put an arm around her; now was not a time for admonishment, but as soon as he touched her shoulders she scrambled away from him. She didn't – couldn't – answer him, so they sat in silence for a while.

Once they'd started to get a handle on the horror that had befallen them, Vin started talking, looking at the floor. She didn't want to look at Reen, to see the blame in his eyes that she knew she'd see. It was her fault, she wasn't strong enough to protect her sister and Reen would blame her and he'd walk away and leave her at their mother's mercy.

"It all seemed to happen so fast" Vin whispered, barely audible. "Jaina was asleep and mother had gone out, then she stormed into the house and grabbed Jaina. She was shouting at someone, but there was no-one there. Before I could do anything, she rammed something into her. Jaina didn't scream, her body went limp as all her blood fell to the floor. I ran over, but she slapped me, then threw Jaina down, sat me on her knee and pushed her earring into my ear". Her hand absently twisted the earring as she said this. "She wouldn't let me go; I could see Jaina was dead but I wanted to get her, to wrap her up and cuddle her, but she wouldn't let me go….." with this the sobs again grew so that she couldn't continue.

Reen knew that it was a mistake to leave that morning, but he didn't, couldn't and wouldn't blame Vin for what had occurred, although he knew she'd never forgive herself. He looked at her, so small and frail and knew they had to leave. There wasn't any more reason holding them back, and in going he would be saving Vin.

He tried again to go to her "Vin" he gently said, placing a hand on her arm "we have to leave now". She looked up at him, not seeming to comprehend what her was saying. "We need to run away Vin, like we'd planned and we need to leave right now". She shook her head "but…..Jaina" she whimpered. "She's gone Vin, there's nothing we can do for now, and, as awful as it sounds, I need to make sure we're safe". Vin stood up so suddenly that Reen was shocked "NO!" she shouted, "I will not leave until we've taken care of her, I won't leave her. She needs to be warm and wrapped up…..". Reen stood up and looked her straight in the eye "wrapping her up won't do anything Vin – she's gone". Vin seemed to grow in height as she shouted "it's all my fault, I didn't stop her getting hurt, I didn't protect her! At least let me make sure she's warm" she added. Reen knew that there was no way she'd leave in this mindset. "Let me see what I can do" he said.

After he left Vin in the shed, Reen went into the house and returned with Jaina's body wrapped in her blanket. Vin gingerly took her little sister from her brother and as they left the shed Reen grabbed a spade.

They quickly buried Jaina and left her grave unmarked. Once they'd completed their task, Reen looked to Vin, grabbed her hand and led her away from their home without either of them looking back.


End file.
